NCA Chair Samuel West Calls On Arts Supporters To Ensure Their MPs Receive Assurances Before Voting To Trigger Article 50

Today the National Campaign from the Arts has published a message from its Chair, Samuel West, encouraging the public to ask their MPs to make their support for triggering Article 50 conditional on six key assurances for UK audiences and artists.

The assurances relate to funding for both the arts and Higher Education, free movement and residency rights, access to markets, administrative burdens and relevant EU laws and regulations.

Samuel West said: 'It is vital for the future of audiences and the arts in the UK that Brexit negotiations take into account how important being a member of the EU has become to the health of this world-leading sector. The future for the UK arts, and for the UK's artistic reputation around the world, could be very bright - but only if we know that the current position on everything from arts funding to copyright does not suffer from us leaving the EU.

'I urge supporters of the arts to use this vital moment: alert your MP to issues facing the arts and ask them to press for the assurances the sector requires to safeguard the future of UK audiences and artists.'

Samuel West's full message is below:

Triggering Article 50 and the House of Commons: a message from Samuel West, Chair of the National Campaign for the Arts

It is now confirmed that Parliament must legislate to trigger Article 50 and begin negotiations for the United Kingdom's exit from the EU. You may be thinking about contacting your MP about what questions they should consider before casting their vote.

This is a good moment to tell your MP about the key issues for the arts and the assurances that are needed to make sure artists and audiences are not damaged by Brexit. Please consider asking your MP to make their support for triggering Article 50 conditional on the following:

1. UK arts organisations must continue to have access to funding from the Creative Europe programme, or UK arts funding must be increased proportionately to fund the deficit. In a recent Arts Council England survey almost 10% of responding arts organisations had benefitted from funding from this programme.

2. Higher Education must continue to be able to get EU funds, or UK funding needs to be increased proportionately. Higher Education is vital for the development of creative talent in the UK and is also becoming an increasingly important funder of cultural infrastructure in the UK.

3. EU nationals currently employed in the UK must be able to stay here after Britain has left the EU. To maintain our world-leading status in the creative sector, arts organisations and audiences must continue to benefit from those creative talents from the EU that have made their home in the UK.

4. The UK should keep tariff-free access to the EU market for goods and services and the government should support showcasing opportunities for arts and culture in other current and developing global markets. Arts Council England reports that 56% of the UK's exports of music, performing arts and visual arts went to Europe in 2014, worth £362 million to the economy: invaluable to thousands of artists who rely on exporting their work to the EU.

5. Relevant EU laws and regulations must be maintained or improved upon. Artists and arts organisations in the UK currently benefit from EU laws and regulations relating to copyright, intellectual property, artist re-sale rights and VAT exemption. Removing these would threaten our position as a world leader in the arts and creative industries.

6. Brexit must not add administrative burdens to the free movement of artists and art between the EU and the UK. This is essential to ensure UK audiences continue to have access to great art from the EU and that UK arts organisations can tour easily in the EU.

If you want more background to the issues and potential impact of Brexit for the cultural sector, there are reports from both Arts Council England and the Creative Industries Federation. If you are unsure how to contact your MP, details are available on this website.

If there are other areas in which you think assurances are required to safeguard the arts, the National Campaign for the Arts is keen to hear from you. Please email hello@forthearts.org.uk.

Samuel West

Chair, National Campaign for the Arts